Mother Troubles
by The Legend of Rune Factory
Summary: Karina fell asleep on the job once again. Hazel decides to kick her out of the house this time. With no other place to go, Karina heads to the Univir Settlement for a while. Hopefully the Univir and a certain dwarf can straighten her out and help her...
1. Karina Gets The Boot

**I've wanted to write this for some time now, but never quite had the time or the drive until now. This will be a two-shot, because it was originally going to be too long for just one chapter. Anyway, this was half-inspired by my own mother, and the small arguments that we get into sometimes. Sorry about any OOC-ness at the beginning and end. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Karina was always half-asleep, except when she was actually sleeping. She was fighting the urge to nod off even now, as her mother was scolding her for doing so earlier. "Karina? Karina!"

She jumped and inadvertently knocked over the price board sitting on the counter. "Uh… Oops…"

"Karina, were you listening _at all_?" Hazel took a deep breath. She shook her head and pointed at the door. "I don't like this anymore than you do."

"…what?" She had been dozing again.

Her mother's eyes were strangely teary, and Karina was immediately alarmed. "Mom? What's up?"

"Get out, Karina. I've told you time and time again to stop being so lazy. I'm… I told you that I'd kick you out if you didn't listen to me, so get out of here." She kept her finger pointed at the door and her eyes closed, even as a tear slid down her face. Every fiber of her being begged her to forgive Karina, saying that she was naught but a child, that she didn't know any better… She had a hard time dealing with the fact that her daughter was older now, old enough to have a family of her own, at least, and that extreme measures like these _had_ to be taken.

Karina started shuffling toward the staircase to pack her things. Her mother stopped her. "Oh no. You just get out of this shop right this instant."

"But… But my stuff…"

"Get out!" Hazel shouted, so loudly that Shara next door poked her head out to look down the path to see if the store was on fire or something of that sort.

The fastest that Karina had ever moved was that moment, when she sprinted out of what used to be her home just to trip in the doorway and go sprawling in the dust. She looked back to see her mother slam the general store door. "Mom…?" She stood up and knocked on the door timidly. "You… You were joking, right? Mom?"

The window drapes were closed and there wasn't an answer from the other side of the door. Karina felt tears sting at her eyes as she began pounding on the wood. "Mom! Mom, please, you can't do this to me!" She jiggled the doorknob, which was locked. "No! Mom, I'm sorry! I'll work harder, I promise!"

Shara and Wells had stepped out of their flower shop to investigate what all the noise was about. Raven and Gaius had also come out. Raven's eyes widened and she gasped softly. "Oh no… Hazel actually…kicked her out of the house… I don't believe this…"

Karina, meanwhile, had tears streaming down her face as she kept pounding on the door. "Come on, this isn't funny! Let me in, PLEASE! Mother, I'm so sorry! I'll never sleep again if that will open this door!" Her furious slams on the door became weaker and weaker. She finally slid down the wood to the ground, confused and unsure what to do. As she tried to blink away the tears, she was vaguely aware of a dull pain in the hand she had been using to strike the door.

Raven walked over to her. "Karina…"

Her friend looked up into her face. "Raven, she… Mom kicked me out… Just because I was sleeping!"

"I know, the whole town heard." She sighed and helped Karina to her feet. "Come on, let's go."

"Go? Where?"

"Just follow me."

As Raven led the distraught girl away, Hazel parted the drapes to the front window. She sighed miserably and let them fall back, casting the room in darkness once again. The finality of the situation hit her suddenly, and she choked back a sob. Karina was gone. _That lazy daughter of mine is gone… Perhaps forever…_ She slowly walked to the staircase, suddenly feeling very tired, and in a way, old.

* * *

After a quick trip to the Apothecary, Karina found herself in the Univir settlement, standing in front of Kuruna with Raven at her side. She kept her eyes on the ground, barely listening to what was being said. Mostly she kept thinking of ways she could possibly make her mother see just how valuable she was to the store, and maybe then she could go back home.

Kuruna suddenly laid her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Usually I would not want a Hornless girl living here, but seeing that the situation is what it is, I will make sure she is comfortable here. Thank you, Raven."

The elf nodded and went out of the hut, most likely to go back to Sharance. Karina looked up at Kuruna. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." She smiled slightly. "I've always wanted a roommate, other than Will."

The red being on her shoulder jerked awake. "KURUNA, WHO THIS? SHE NOT FROM SETTLEMENT."

"You're right Will; Karina is from Sharance. She'll be staying with us for a while, so I want you to be nice to her, all right?" The Univir reached up to pet him.

"ME BE GOOD TO KARINA. KARINA FRIEND OF KURUNA; KARINA FRIEND OF WILL." He blinked twice and went back to sleep under her blonde hair.

She chuckled and turned to the young girl. "I've instructed Zaid to give you a tour of the desert and to tell you the rules and warnings around here. He should be near his hut, which is to your left when you leave here."

"All right… Thanks…." Karina left and almost ran into Zaid immediately, who had been standing near Owlvin. "Oh! Um… Hey Zaid."

He turned around. "Finally! Come on, we have a lot to do and little time to do it in!" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the village entrance. Spinning her around to face the settlement, he spread his arms wide. "This is the Univir Settlement, even though I'm a dwarf and I live here too. Ondorus's house is to the right, mine is to the left, and Kuruna's is straight ahead, even though you already know that.

"We don't keep secrets from anybody, we don't make hasty decisions, we don't start fights, we all help keep it clean, and we all take turns cooking." He turned to her. "You do cook, right?"

She placed her hand to her forehead. "Uh… I-I guess… I haven't had much experience with that, but… What's that list again of what you do and don't do?"

He sighed and talked slower. "We don't: keep secrets, make hasty decisions, or start fights. We do: help with cleaning and take turns cooking meals. Did you get it that time?"

Karina nodded. "Yep. Sorry, my mind is…elsewhere…"

"Well, you'd better pull it together, because this is going to be a fast tour! I have to meet Micah later at the beach so he can help me fish for food. Now come on!" He reached down to grab her wrist, but instead his fingers entwined with hers.

She glanced down at their hands with a soft gasp of surprise. He rolled his eyes and tugged her after him anyway. "Let's just go." With his other hand he drew out Mr. Slice to protect her from the goblin pirates, since she obviously had no weapon of her own.

Karina bit her lip as he effortlessly took down the monsters while spouting a fountain of information. She couldn't keep up with half of what he said, but she did notice that he never let go of her nor did he allow a monster to even let their gaze linger on her for a moment of time before he killed it.

_I'm so confused… I need a nap, really badly… I'm so tired… This has been too big a day for me._ She nearly had her eyes closed, but Zaid jerked her on and she stumbled forward into him. "Sorry…" She mumbled.

"Try to stay awake, ok? This won't take much longer." His tone, unless she was just delirious from fatigue, was that of both concern and annoyance.

* * *

That night, as she lay in her bed across the hut from Kuruna, she gazed up at the stars from the open window-flap. Will was snoring from beside his Univir mistress, mumbling something about cheese. Karina sighed and rolled over.

"Are you comfortable?"

Kuruna's voice cut the night like a knife, and Karina shot up from her bedroll in alarm. "Huh? Oh… Yeah, I'm fine." She settled back into the blankets.

"I was worried. You haven't slept at all, and I've known you to be able to fall asleep standing up." Kuruna's smile was illuminated in the moonlight. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No, not really."

"Very well then. I won't press you for answers." She lay on her back for a few moments of silence before whispering, "The stars are beautiful in the Star Dunes."

Karina considered that before getting the hint that she should see them. She grabbed her boots and pulled them on. Standing up as quietly as she could, she slipped out of the hut under the darkness of night. She used this same tactic to slip past all the monsters between her and the Star Dunes.

By the time she made it to the entrance of the Sol Terrano desert where the Star Dunes were, she was exhausted. _Walking so isn't my thing…_ She squared her shoulders and walked to the spot. Her clear green eyes widened with pleasure as the stars shone bright and close. She felt as if she could reach them from where she stood.

"Karina?"

She spun around to face the voice. Zaid stepped out from under a fern. "What are you doing here?" He tilted his head slightly.

"I, um… Kuruna said that it was pretty here…" She kicked at the sand absently. "I could ask you why you're here."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh. I know the feeling."

He scoffed and stood next to her. "Oh please, you sleep all day and all night. How do you know what insomnia's like?"

"I'm awake right now, aren't I?" She glanced up at him.

Zaid furrowed his eyebrows. "Touché."

"Anyway, Kuruna was right; the stars are beautiful here."

"Just another reason to love the desert, you know." He turned to face her. "You know, I still don't quite understand why you're living here. I mean, you don't strike me as a desert-dweller like us."

She rubbed her arm in nervousness. "My mom kicked me out of the house, Zaid. I didn't have anywhere else to go…" The day's memories replayed in her mind. She winced at remembering how Marjorie had to painstakingly remove all the splinters from her hand after her attempt at getting back into her home.

"Oh… Sorry. I didn't know that part." He awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Well, I'm sure that your mom will forgive you eventually."

"Or never."

"Don't say that! Hazel'l come around. You'll see. She has to. You're her kid."

Karina looked up at him. "Oh Zaid… What if she doesn't? I'll be stuck on my own forever!"

"Don't think like that. You'll change her mind. I know it." He nodded to affirm his words.

"Thanks Zaid…" She stepped forward to give him a friendly hug of gratitude.

His eyes widened and he began to make the motion to shove her off. He changed his mind, however, after feeling her warmth spread through his body. Slowly he embraced her in his arms, silver eyes glinting in the moonlight.

* * *

**Ah, sweet ZaidxKarina fluff... Anyway, as for Will liking cheese, he just struck me as the kind of creature that would like cheese. I love Will. He's so awesome. ^_^ I want a Will!**

**Reviews are appreciated! I should have the second part to this up tomorrow.**

**-LoRF**


	2. The Return

**Here's the promised second half of Mother Troubles. Again, since I can't seem to get Zaid's personality right (dang it!), there will be inevitable OOC-ness. Ugh, I am seriously sorry for that... Anyway, please enjoy part two! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Life went on in Sharance after that fateful afternoon at the end of spring. The only thing that was off was the fact that what used to have been Raven, Karina, and Sofia was now just Raven and Sofia. The two of them still got together for their daily meetings, although their lazy friend was no longer with them.

Summer came and went like a petal in the breeze, or in the case of Carmen and Carlos, like a worm on the hook. The air was hot and humid, the perfect weather for a dip in the lake. Carlos got his yearly fill of gaggling at girls while his sister helped their money troubles by setting up an ice cream stand. This also let her keep an eye on her brother for when he started to flirt.

Raven and Sofia tried to pretend that they weren't bothered much by the fact that Karina was gone. They held no seen grudges against Hazel and continued with their lives like nothing had happened, like it had been the two of them from the beginning. Secretly, however, they sent letters to her by when Raven went to visit occasionally.

The season of fall passed much the same as summer did before it. The cold weather had everyone dressing in scarves and coats, and the loneliness was much more defined. Often Sofia would be walking through the village, always going back to the spots that her friends would be to talk and laugh. Those spots held nothing but memories now. And she would walk away, her shoulders slumped and the once perky umbrella held neatly at her side.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Sol Terrano desert where the weather never changed and it was always very hot, Karina was enjoying herself. For once, she didn't have to work or talk or do much of anything except sleep and cook when it was her night. All day she'd spend asleep or thinking about sleep under the shade of a palm tree in the settlement.

At least, that was how the first week went.

Once she had slept her days away, she swiftly spiraled down into boredom. Boredom was really nothing new to her, but boredom in a place like the desert just didn't seem right. She thought about asking Kuruna or Ondorus what to do for entertainment, but then she figured they'd force her to read. The only person she had to go to was Zaid.

Zaid had been sharpening Mr. Slice when she approached him, few days after he showed her the desert before. "Hey Zaid…" She watched him with interest.

The dwarf looked up at her. "Sup?"

"Oh, nothing… I was just wondering, um… Uh…" She was becoming quite absorbed in his work. The strike of the stone against the blade reminded her of those afternoons spent in the Blacksmith's Shop, where she would talk with Raven and Gaius was working in the next room over.

"Karina?" He snapped his fingers in her face.

She jerked out of her trance and blinked rapidly. "Huh? Oh, sorry." She stayed silent as he kept working.

"Karina, what do you want?" He asked suddenly, not unkindly, but his impatience shone.

"Um… Could you…show me how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"That." She pointed at the rock he was holding and his sword.

He gave her a queer look. "You want to learn how to sharpen a sword? Have you even ever wielded one?"

She shook her head slowly. He sighed and stood up. "Come on. You gotta learn how to use one before you sharpen one. Let's go pick on some goblin pirates."

Karina followed him with new eagerness. In common circumstances, she never, in all her wildest dreams—which she tended to have a lot with sleeping so much—would have guessed that she would be learning the way of the blade. She was strangely excited and yet a small part of her still held on to the fact that she was very unused to doing any form of exercise, and that she would most likely be a burden for poor Zaid instead of a help.

All those feelings went out the door when she felt him shove Mr. Slice into her hands. He stood behind her and placed his own hands on the hilt over hers. "All right, now pay attention."

She became suddenly aware of exactly how close she was to a person of the opposite gender. She took a deep breath and chuckled nervously. "I'm not very good at this…"

"That's fine; you're a beginner. Just let me lead for now."

Together they slashed through some goblins, sending them back to the First Forest. Karina was amazed at how simple it was, at least when Zaid was guiding her. She tried to fight on her own and barely managed to escape being struck by a flying dagger. He merely laughed and sent the pirate to monster heaven.

Despite this first awkward and learning moment they had, they both soon discovered that they kept each other from going insane from boredom. Throughout the summer Zaid kept teaching her the way of the sword, hoping and waiting for the day when they could go fighting side by side. He told himself that he was doing the girl a favor, teaching her a vital skill for desert survival.

Once fall came around, he felt that she was ready to begin fighting on her own, much to his sadness. Karina had grown much stronger and more awake in her time spent in the settlement, since near-death experiences had made her more alert. The two of them enjoyed going out during the day and slaying Tomato Ghosts and the like.

Underneath all of her happiness, however, was the tone of depression. She was still yearning to go back home in Sharance, to help her mother in the general store and meet with her other friends. A part of her was still the young lazy Karina that needed to hear Hazel's scolding yells every day.

Winter brought up a field full of memories. Most nights she would go to the Star Dunes before going to bed at night, thinking about her friends and family. It was also the place where Zaid had admitted his growing feelings for her, and consequently kissed her for the first time. She liked to remember that feeling, hoping that it would eventually fill in the gap made by her mother's scorn and negligence that day, three seasons ago.

One night he followed her to the Dunes. As she was looking skyward, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "What are you thinking about?"

She jumped and looked back at him. "Oh, hey. I was thinking about my mom."

"Again?"

"Yeah, again." She leaned against him and sighed. "I want to go home."

"Come on then." He began leading her back to the settlement.

She stopped him and shook her head. "No, not that home. My home. In Sharance."

Zaid nodded. "Right… Do you think it's time? Already? You've been here for a while now. Do you think that's long enough for your mom to cool off?"

"I think it is. I'm pretty sure I've outlived my welcome here. I'm sorry, Zaid, but… I have to go." She took a shivering breath.

"We can still each other, you know." He forced her eyes to look at him. "Let's grab some warmer clothes and go to Sharance. We can go tonight, so then we won't have to tell anyone."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He smiled slightly.

"Thank you…" She reached up to give him a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing his arm and going back to the settlement.

Once they had donned warmer cloaks and the like, they used the portal to Micah's farm to go to Sharance faster. Karina yelped from the cold and huddled closer to Zaid. "I'm so used to the desert!" Her teeth began chattering.

He chuckled and began walking to the general store. She walked after him, slower, contemplating whether or not they should turn back. The street lamps were on, illuminating the streets. Her heart swelled to see the General Store again. She timidly went up to the door and knocked.

"Hold on, I'll be there in a minute!" Hazel's aggravated voice came from within.

Zaid wrapped a reassuring arm around Karina's waist. "You'll be fine," He whispered.

The door opened suddenly and Karina stepped forward. "Mom…"

Hazel gasped and crushed her daughter in a much unexpected hug. Karina exhaled quickly and hugged her back, smiling widely. Once they had parted, her mother ushered them both inside. Lighting a candle, she looked at Karina. "You came back."

"Yeah, I guess I did." She looked around. Everything was the same as the day she left. "I wanted to know if I could come back to live here again. I don't want you to be mad at me anymore."

"Oh Karina, I'm not angry. I don't think you know how happy I am to see you right now." She took her daughter's hand in hers, noticing immediately that it was calloused from labor. "Karina, have you been…?"

"Working? Kind of. Sword fighting, actually. For protection." Karina gestured to Zaid. "He taught me."

Hazel smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Zaid, for taking such good care of my daughter and even going to the lengths of helping her understand the meaning of work, in a way." She turned back to Karina. "You're welcome to come back to live here. I'm sorry I sent you off like that. It was a horrible mistake."

"Eh. At least I'll work the shop now and not fall asleep." However, a yawn worked its way up her throat at that moment.

"I see…" Hazel laughed softly. "Go upstairs to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Karina leaned in to give Zaid a quick kiss good night and good-bye before shuffling up the stairs. Zaid blushed bright red in front of Hazel. "I, uh, I can explain that…"

"No need, young man. Just treat her well." She stood up and stretched. "Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I'm tired as well."

He nodded and shook her hand. "It was nice to see that she's home. Night, Hazel." He left quickly and quietly, closing the door softly and hearing the click of it locking.

Hazel, once in the second floor, peeked in her daughter's room. Karina was sound asleep in her bed. She smiled, going in to sit on the edge of the bed. "Good night," She whispered brushing a lock of silver-white hair out of the girl's face.

"G'night Mom," was the mumbled reply.

* * *

**Another rushed ending... Oh well, it works. I hope you liked it! ZaidxKarina... I love that pairing now. It could be... Zarina. Yeah, Zarina. ZARINA FTW!**

**Reviews are appreciated! **

**-LoRF**


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